Work, life and fun in the age of computer games.

Just click on the question to see the answer. Click again on the question to close the answer. Nifty, huh?

I think so, at least for any modern browser, and even for some junky old browsers like IE 6

1. Enjoy and play games. They are hella-fun.

2. Play outside in meatspace. At least a few hours a week.

3. Depressed? Sad? Hiding? Gaining weight from playing WoW? When playing a game is more about hiding from real life than enjoying it, you should probably stop playing games for a while.

4. Real life friends are fun. have some.

from hardcore casual:

Tourist jokes aside (not that the tourist problem is a joke, mind you), I’ve come to this brilliant conclusion: MMOs are just not that fun for most people.

I know, shocking.

With all the time we spend going back and forth on how X game is awesome and your MMO sucks, or how game Y would be so much better with feature Z, the majority of gamers are telling of us ALL our games suck. The whole genre, garbage. And in a way they are right. Why in gods name would I pay $15 a month to complete 100 kill x mob quests when I could do far more interesting tasks in a single player RPG? Why would I grind up an imbalanced character so I can PvP ‘sometimes’ when I can just get a FPS for cheap and have all-access to PvP of all flavors?

PDF copy of blog post here in case of link rot

Pay attention. When things get out of hand, you gotta stop.

I believe play is an intrinsic, important part of being human. I really think Wikipedia has it right:

Play refers to a range of voluntary, intrinsically motivated activities that are normally associated with pleasure and enjoyment.[1] Play may consist of amusing, pretend or imaginary interpersonal and intrapersonal interactions or interplay. The rights of play are evident throughout nature and are perceived in people and animals, particularly in the cognitive development and socialization of children. Play often entertains props, animals, or toys in the context of learning and recreation. Some play has clearly defined goals and when structured with rules is entitled a game, whereas some play exhibits no such goals nor rules and is considered to be “unstructured” in the literature (source).

I think young people (aged 10 to 18) play games because kids are wired to learn through play. I think play is natural, and I think absence of play is really bad for the human soul. I think video games are actually really fun patterns for people to solve.

I also think there is something about pretending to be someone else, in another place, in another role, is really fun.

Yes.

There is no way your soul is going to survive computer games. Like, play tetris for an hour, and you are screwed. Like the hot weather? Better get used to it, because your ass is going to fry if you play video games.

Remember, life is serious.

If you have to ask yourself if you have a problem with games, then maybe you do. Anytime you have find yourself negotiating between your life and a game, then you probably have an issue.

This is the thing, you have to ask yourself honestly. Like, look inside and honestly ask yourself if games are getting in the way of other stuff in your life. Here’s a list of questions:

1. Am I playing more than 4 hours a day?
2. Is my school work suffering as a result of my game playing?
3. Do I have a social life outside of games?
4. Has my physical condition deteriorated because all I do is play games?
5. Are my relationships deteriorating because of my game use?
6. Do I lie so I can play games?

At the end of the day, you have to figure out if games are getting in the way of having a healthy life. In my experience, most people know when things “aren’t quite right” with games.

We’ll talk about what to do if you think you have a problem in another post.

Looking for an easy solution? Looking for someone to tell you to spend 45 minutes per day playing certain games? Want to hear me tell you it’s ok to ignore your family and friends and play computer games?

Go away.

If you are willing to think about what works for you, then looking at this website is a great first step.

Balance is about doing what you need to do and then having fun. Not that tough, ok? Do important stuff first, and then frag. This is gloriously uncomplicated.

So what is important? For you, I have no idea. For me, important stuff is (in order):

Taking care of my family
Taking care of myself (part of this is having fun)
Progressing in my career
Participating in a meaningful spiritual community
Keeping up with the d&d 4e rules
Learning how to rocket jump in tf2

I don’t think balance is a static state of equilibrium.  Instead, I see balance as constantly shifting changing and adjusting in response to environmental circumstances.

Hiding in a computer game? Computer games are a great place to escape. It’s what makes them fun. Quite similar to reading a good book, actually. Although you don’t hear about too many people addicted to books.

The thing is, computer games are hella-fun. It’s also easy to get lost in them. This site is about helping people to find some kind of balance with computer games. It’s an individual thing, that each gamer needs to figure out for themselves.

People play games for different reasons at different times.

Richard Bartle was one of the first to present a coherent theory about this -  the bartle test. Another researcher, Nick Yee questioned Bartles findings in his daedalus project.

Bartle initially started with 4 player types below:

Achievers
Explorers
Socializers
Killers

Bartle increased his graph to 8 types. He discusses these types at length in this article on his website :

source for above content.

Nick Yee had a different perspective than Bartle, and presented the following reasons play mmorpg’s source) :

I think people probably are generally one specific player type, but drift into other types as they play.

1. Pay attention to ESRB ratings. Computer games aren’t like movies - they are more immersive and you need to think harder before you let your kid play a game that has a Teen or Mature Rating.

2. Write up some rules about computer use with your child.  Make sure to include stuff like safeguarding personal information, limiting the amount of time your child can play on the computer, cyberbullying (don’t say it online if you wouldn’t say it in person), and what to do if your child encounters some inappropriate content. Finally, agree on a healthy amount of time to spend on the computer.  here’s a template you can use.

3. Find out why your child plays games. This will involve some work. read this thoroughly - pay special attention to the part about how kids run into trouble when they use games to escape. People play games for different reasons - we need to understand this as parents.

Very good guide to making an agreement about media use with your students.  MS_PACT.pdf

Video games can sit at the social crossroads of parenting, adolescents, trust, autonomy, values, culture, and adulthood.

Because of this, there is a tremendous variation in the ways families and people approach video games. Some families might be very liberal, some might be quite conservative.

I always thought good parenting is about the right balance of letting go and holding on, and like our immune system, kids need to be exposed to society in order to learn how to deal with it.

Yes. 

Sit down and talk with your child about common-sense rules for computer use.  You both should think about:

1. How much time per day is reasonable?
2. What sites are ok to visit?
3. Is it ok to IM and chat?
4. When your kid is using the internet for homework, what are the guidelines?
5. What happens when a rule is broken?
6. What kinds of games are ok to play?
7. What should your kid do if they encounter something that makes them feel uncomfortable?
8. How often should these rules be revisited?
9. Will you install parent-survey software? Will you discuss the results?

You should keep the computer in a public place in the house.

Probably not.

First of all, addiction isn’t a black and white thing. Even the venerable DSM 3R sees nuance in addiction. We find compulsion, obsession, and dependence.  Also, addiction isn’t always a permanent condition. There are various cures and fixes for addiction and addictive behavior. Not just the 12 steps.

My point?

Be careful about labeling heavy computer gaming as addictive. There’s heavy playing, there’s occasional bouts of immersion, and then there’s actual addiction.  I’ve always thought addiction is rare - an actual inability to stop playing. Game playing significantly disrupts work, relationships, and life. So please take some time to stop and really pay attention to what is getting done and what is not getting done in your child’s life.
Just because you are uncomfortable with how much your son or daughter plays games doesn’t mean they are addicted. Why are they playing so much?

I’m not saying game playing can be unhealthy - it can be. What I’m saying is before you throw around “addiction” think it through.

blah blah blah blah blah do what I say and not what I do blah blah blah blah.

Life is hard sometimes, and our kids need to hide / escape / deal. This is normal. Sometimes as adults we need the same thing.  Pay attention to how your children play games, what they are playing, and what else they are doing. If you want me to write some formula for you I will…but you know your son or daughter a hell of a lot better than I do.

At the end of the day,  you are the parent. You are in charge, and you make the rules.  Use this power with care.  I’ve seen many parents use the nuclear option - not just for games, but for anything. 

You get what you want, and you can injure your relationship with your kid.

Am I saying let your kid do what they want to, whenever they want to? No. I am saying create reasonable rules, ofter positive alternatives, and create clear and flexible structure.  Computer games can be bad, sure - but almost anything can be when taken into extreme or used maliciously.

Yes you are. 

There is no way we can say what is healthy or not healthy - it depends on your son or daughter and circumstances. If your child is playing more than 70% of their non-school, non-work time, then you might need to sit down and talk with them.  It’s also important to look at frequency. There is a difference between one day of heavy playing and one month of heavy playing.

I remember I played a computer game every day for almost a full year.  I was in 8th grade, and I remember coming home, doing my homework, and playing until 9 or 10 at night. It was fantastic. A great escape for me during the throes of early adolescence. Was I addicted? No. But computer games helped me cope with the myriad and manifold challenges everyone faces as they grow up. Later on, as a teacher I even noticed the educational value of games in my classroom.  I still enjoy playing computer games casually.

The issue becomes when important stuff doesn’t get done.  Then you need to sit down, spend times with your kid and talk to them.  If there is someone who can give them a dutch uncle talk all the better.

Insane enthusiasm matched with good teaching is a hard mix to beat. Spend a moment listening to your kids talking about computer and video games.  Look at the energy they spend, watch their unbridled excitement, see them write and read voluminous amounts about their passion.

Stitch the game into a well designed curricular lesson, and you’ve got the recipe for harnessing student energy and making learning exciting.

When I talk about educational games, I usually talk about three types of games (see original blog post here).

Without belaboring it:

COTS -commercial, off the shelf
Edutainment
Serious games

There has been an emergence of a fourth category of game, I’m calling it kick-ass-game-for-schools (kagfs). The qualities of a kagfs include:

1. Very high production value
2. Content-accurate information (like, accurate representation of history, medical information, government structure, etc…)
3. Really good tools for reporting individual student progress to teachers
4. All the stuff that make COTS games good like:

4.1 ...dynamic, adjustable difficulty
4.2 ...easy early goals
4.3 ...play experience invites entrance into Csikszentmihalyi’s idea of “flow”
4.4 ...allows different player types to enjoy the game
4.5 ...is a game a kid would want to play at home (this is kind of my ultimate litmus test for games in education)

I have only seen one instance of a kagfs, at muzzy lane but a recent feed popped up on my rss reader: t.h.e. journal had a piece titled: Researchers Study Effects of Educational Games on Math Achievement by Scott Aronowitz. I think this might be another example of a kagfs link here for dimensionM. But I need to play this game to see.

It looks like there is some snazzy instruction stuff on the front end, and then the kids explore a pretty cool-looking interactive world, applying the math skills they are studying.

The only thing I don’t enjoy: stopping the game while the kid solves a math problem. Update: after playing their demo, I kind of nudge this particular game into the edutainment arena. Gorgeous production values, great tutorial, but zapping all the transmitters that have an even number? That doesn’t quite fit into my kagfs category.

Anyone else see any kagfs?

Great article entitled: Public Pedagogy through Video Games by James Paul Gee and Elizabeth Hayes (pdf here)

I think about computer and games learning in basically two ways.  Informal learning and formal learning. These aren’t exclusive viewpoints, nor are they necessarily contradictory. 

Formal learning using video games happens in a classroom with highly structured lesson design, and clear assessment of learning objectives.  As a teacher, I know from my personal experience that formal learning and games is a perfect match.  I’ve always been focused on proving that video games are effective instructional tools.  if you are interested in a quick guide for games in education, click here (you can also click here to see everything I’ve written about games in education).

Informal learning refers to the inherent, automatic, and natural learning that happens when people play video games. It is this area that scholars like Gee and Schaeffer write so eloquently about. My summary of their thinking is that games are inherently educational and computer games are excellent and complex learning systems. Just playing a complex computer game is educational.

I happen to agree with the informal learning ideas, but I spend more time thinking about formal uses.

In comes the above article, which is really good for understanding why computer games are inherently educational. The article discusses design, resources, and what the authors call call “affinity spaces”.

Using games in education requires a higher standard of educational efficacy than other, more traditional forms of instruction.

Why?

• Because it’s a game.
• Because games are thought of as strictly recreational tools.
• Because many people think “students spend to much time in front of games”.  Because we can’t stick a student in front of a game and expect miracles.
• Because games are not thought of as educational.
• Because public education is the last industry in the United States to still be debating the efficacy of technology as a whole.

Are we using Civilization 3 to teach the relationship between science and civilization prosperity? Prove the understanding with authentic, accessible,  assessment. Demonstrate the learning. We are teaching students to think about the game and to develop those higher order thinking skills. To evaluate and analyze subtle and complex interrelationships.  We need to be able to point at the game and say “See? It’s working!”

How do we know a student knows?  Are there different levels of knowing something?  Surely simple memorization is different than analyzing, evaluating and synthesizing.  Computer games (and technology in general) confers a deeper lever of knowledge than simple drill and recall learning activities.  Therefore, we must use correct assessment tools.

Instructional Design

When this lesson is over, what is the learning going to look like?  What is going to be different?  What lasting understandings will the students be able to demonstrate? The best place to start planning a lesson is at the end.

Using computer games in education is more than sticking a student in front of Civilization 3 and hoping for the best.  Very specific learning objectives, accurate assessment, consistent feedback, and an engagement in the learning process are critical for the successful implementation of computer games in education.

It’s really no different from any instructional activity.  Well organized lessons and instructional activities make for a more successful learning experience.

It is important to include as many national, state, and local state standards as you are able.  Make sure the standards are truly linked to learning activities, and not added as an afterthought.  You should be able to clearly point to something a student is doing and connect it with a state standard.

Take into consideration different learning styles, different ways of using the game to illustrate understandings.  For example, could a student take a series of screen captures in Sim City, and create a large artistic collage in the hallway to show the growth of an urban and suburban areas?  Could another student interview a mayor of Sim City, with a decidedly cynical slant, and post the interview online?  How is our lesson plan addressing different intelligences and learning styles?

At the end of the day, well planned, well organized lesson plans will define the success of computer games in education. The more specific our objectives, the better we will be able use computer games to teach.

Games work in education. 

You can not sit a child in front of a computer for an hour and expect something magical to happen.  There has to be planned, deliberate, and conscious teaching. While this is true for all technology use in education, it is especially true for the use of computer games in the classroom. 

I’ve been using games successfully in my classroom for years, and I’ve been helping other teachers use games in their classrooms.  There are specific circumstances which need to coalesce in order for games to work in education.  But games work. 

Look at the energy, enthusiasm, and excitement our students show when playing computer games. I am stunned at the discrepancy between how our students respond to traditional instruction, and how they interact with computer games.  It’s amazing to see how excited they are about games, how motivated they are, how much work they are willing to do! Even students labeled as “not interested” in school or even “low achievers” display a very different profile when talking about video games.

Enter common sense.

Am I saying we should forsake good teaching and assessment with Team Fortress 2? Of course not.  But I am saying there is a disconnect between adults and kids; and this disconnect is defined by multimedia, television, and the internet.

Let’s meet our students where they play.